The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1887-07-28
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
Sports of the Chase as Illustrative
of the Truths Of the Gospel.
Faith and Personal Conservation the
Weapons Needed for the Capture OF
Lost Souls-The Sinners
Death Leap.

Faith and Personal Conservation the
Weapons Needed for the Capture OF
Lost Souls-The Sinners
Death Leap.
As the topic for a recent discourse at
the Brooklyn Tabernacle, Rev. T. Dewitt
Talmage chose the sport of hunting, by
which to illustrate the pursuit and capt
ture of mems souls for Christ His text
was:
He was q mighty hunter before the Lord
Genesis T., O.
Mr. Talmage said:
In our day, hunting is a sport; but in
the lands and the times infested with
wild beasts, 1t was a matter of life or
death with the people. 1t was very diff
ferent from going out on sunshiny after
noon with a patent breech-loader, to
shoot reed.bird on the fats, when
Achilles and Diomedes went out to clear
the land of lions and tigers and bears.
My text sets forth Nimrod as hero,
when it presents him with broad shout
ders, and shaggy apparel, and sun
Drowned face, and arm bun ched with
muscle-"a mighty hunter before the
Lord"
l think he used the bow and arrow
with great 81 ccess practicing archery.
have thought If it is such a grand
thing and such brave thing to clear wild
beasts out Of country, If it IS not a bet
ter and drawer thing to hunt down and
destroy those great evils of society that
are stalking the land with fierce eye, and
bloody paw, and sharp tusk, and
quick spring. l have wondered If
there is not such thing as gos
pei hunting, by which those who have
been flying from the truth may be capt
ured for God and Heaven. The Lord
Jesus in his sermon used the art of
angling for an illustration when he said:
Twill make You fishers of men.
And 30 I think I have authority for
using hunting as an illustration Of gospel
truth, and ! pray God that there may be
many a man in this congregation who
shall begin to study gospel archery, of
whom 1t may after awhile be said: "He
was mighty hunter before the Lord"
How much awkward Christian work
there is done in the worldl How many
good people there are who drive souls
away from Christ, instead of bringing
them to himl-religious blunderers who
upset more than they right Their gun has
crooked barrel and kicks as it goes of
They are like clumsy comrade who goes
along with skillful hunters; at the very
moment he ought to be most quiet he is
cracking an alder or falling over log,
and frightening away the game How
few Christian people have lever learned
the lesson Of which I read at the begin
ming Of the service-how that the Lord
Jesus Christ at the well went from talk
ing about cup Of water to the most prac-
tool 1irv;< he
ans soul for God Jesus in the wilderness
was breaking bread to the people. It was
good bread; it was very light bread, and
the yeast had done its work thoroughly.
Christ, after he had broken the bread,
said to the people:
Beware of the yeast or of the leaven of the
Phariseesl
So natural transition it was; and how
easily they all understood himl But how
few Christian people who understand how
to fasten the truths of God and religion
to the souls of meni Truman Osborne,
one Of the evangelists who went through
this country some years ago, had won.
derful art in the right direction. He
came to my fathers house one day, and
while we were all seated in the room, he
said:
'sMr. Talmage, are all your children
Christiansa,
Father said: Eyes. all but Dewitt"
Then Truman Osborne looked down into
the fireplace, and began to tell story OF
storm that came on the mountains, and
all the sheep were in the fold; but the re
was one lamb outside that persisted in the
storm. Had he looked me in the eve,
should have been angered when he told
me that story; but he looked into the fire.
place, and it was 30 pathetically and
beautifully done that never found any
peace until / was sure was inside the
fold, where the other sheep are.
The archers OF old times studied their
art They were very precise in the mat
ter. The old books gave special directions
az to how the archer should go and as to
what an archer should do. He must
stand erect and firm, his left foot little
in advance OF his right foot. With his left
hand he must take hold of the bow in the
middle, and then with the three fingers
and the thumb Of his right hand he
should Law hold Of the arrow and affix it to
the string-so precise was the direction
given. But how clumsy we are about re.
ligious work. How little skill and care
we exercised How often our arrows miss
the markl Oh, that we might learn the
art OF doing good and become "mightv
hunters before the Lordp'
In the first place, if you want to be eff
fectual in doing good, you must be very
sure Of your weapon There was some
ching very fascinating about the archery
OF olden times Perhaps youdo not know
what they could do with the bow and ar
row. Why the chief battles fought by
the English Plantagenets were with the
long bow. They could take the arrow of
polished wood, feather 1t with the plu me
OF bird, and then 1t would fly from the
bow-string Of plated silk. The broad
fields Of Agincourt, and Sclway Moss,
and Neville's Cross, heard the loud thrum
OF the archer's bow-string.
Now, my Christian friends, we have a
mightier weapon than chat. 1t is the ar
row OF the Gospel; it is sharp arrow;
1t Is straight arrow; it is feathered
from the wing Of the dove of Gods spirit;
it flies from bow made out of the wood
OF the cross. As far as I can estim ate it
has brought down 400, 0O0, 900 souls. Paul
knew how to bring the notch of that ar
row onto that bow-string. and its whir
was heard through the Corinthian
theaters, and through the court
room, until the knees Of Felix
knocked together. It was that arrow
mi IT -